Mr. Chair, I am here this evening to participate in the debate because it is an issue of great personal importance to me and to my constituents in Palliser, Saskatchewan. It is an issue of importance to all Canadians.
The issue is ultimately about patient access to medications so that Canadians can live longer, happier and healthier lives. It is about the sufferers of illnesses such as heart disease, Alzheimer's and cancer. It is about providing access to medications. It is for that reason that I am here this evening to participate in the debate. I must confess that given the circumstances with what has gone on today in Parliament in having Justice Gomery confirm that millions of dollars were stolen from the public treasury to benefit the Liberal Party of Canada, I do not think it is a coincidence that this debate is happening this evening. It is bumping CPAC off the airwaves where we would focus on some of the corruption that has gone on under the government.
Nonetheless, I thought it was important enough to come here tonight and participate in the debate because it is an important issue in terms of health care. It is also an issue with which I have a bit of a history. Prior to being elected, I was a pharmaceutical representative for Pfizer Canada. I was very proud of the work that I did travelling the southern half of Saskatchewan with the goal of educating physicians specifically on three different medications in the cardiovascular realm. Physicians have to be experts in 300 or more different medications and I only had to know three. I am proud of the work that I did in that realm. It was a good experience to meet the many good physicians that we have in Saskatchewan, especially those physicians I am thinking about tonight in Moose Jaw, in the riding of Palliser and in southwest Regina.
It was an honour to do that for a living for five years and to talk with physicians about mortality and morbidity data, data about drugs that saved lives. I would drive into communities in southern Saskatchewan and rural Saskatchewan. Whenever one drives into a community it seems that invariably one has to drive past the cemetery before getting to the doctor's office. That just seemed to be the pattern. I would remind myself that it was important work that I was doing. It may seem quirky but I used to say to myself, “Let us try and keep this cemetery a little bit emptier for a little bit longer”. That was how I treated that job. It is how my colleagues at Pfizer treated their jobs, and the seriousness of this issue.
It is very important. We seem to all be in agreement in the House about the need to ban bulk exports. We need to see some action. The member for Yellowhead showed some leadership. He put forward the motion calling on the government to end the practice of bulk exports, asking the Minister of International Trade to protect Canadians proactively from bulk exports. Proactive is the key word. We need to be proactive as opposed to being reactive and waiting to see if there is a crisis, waiting to see if there is a shortage for Canadians. We cannot afford to do that. Canadians need access to these medications and we cannot afford to put that supply at risk.
The Minister of Health said at Harvard on November 10 last year that Canada could not become the drugstore to the United States, a country with 10 times our population. I agree with him but again there has been no action. We have heard members opposite say that we need to study and to consult with the stakeholders. That is the Government of Canada. What we need is leaders. This applies to issues across the board. We really need the political will and some leadership on a topic where members voted 280 to 0 on a motion to ban bulk exports. The will of this House is pretty clear.
The government's approach appears to be reactive and not proactive to ensure that the medicines and vaccines destined for Canadians remain in Canada. The only obvious solution is a ban on the bulk export of pharmaceuticals.
Many people have alluded to a study by Dr. Shepherd, who will soon be in Ottawa. His study indicates that if the pending legislation in the United States passes, our drug supply will dry up in 38 days. That is terrifying. It is certainly terrifying for the people of Palliser and to everyone who is watching this debate tonight. That is shocking information. Clearly, we need some leadership from the government to safeguard Canada's drug supply.
There has been added focus on this issue tonight because of the avian flu issue and the drug Tamiflu which may protect Canadians from the avian flu. This starts the debate as to the need to safeguard Canadian medicines that are intended for Canadian patients.
There is certainly increased pressure in the United States to pass resolutions that call on Washington to legalize the bulk imports of drugs. Legislation to legalize imports from Canada has been introduced in the U.S. and it has bipartisan support. Tonight we have stressed the importance of protecting this drug supply and banning bulk exports.
In June of this year the Minister of Health proposed strengthening existing federal regulations under the Food and Drugs Act. The topic was that we are going to discuss it and we are going to study it. What we really need is action from the government.
The truth is that the government has done nothing to protect the Canadian drug supply. The government has not changed any regulations or brought in any legislation, despite the minister's lofty promises. The government needs to act now to protect Canadian medicines and vaccines that are intended for Canadians.
Earlier tonight during questions and comments I talked about the C.D. Howe Institute which said:
If large-scale drug exports were to occur, most likely drug prices would rise in Canada to U.S. retail levels, which would eat into provincial health care budgets and increase drug costs for most Canadians.
Yet the government has done nothing.
This is a worry for me. It is not only the drug supply but the price of drugs. The member for Charleswood--St. James—Assiniboia who is the health critic for the Conservative Party said that the issues we need to concern ourselves with are price, supply and safety. All of these are critical issues.
The Canadian pharmaceutical industry develops, manufactures and distributes medicines based on its forecasting of the needs of Canadian patients. It does not calculate taking care of our neighbours to the south.
There was a comment this evening from a member who had been a member of the NDP until she was forced to sit as an independent about the fact that drug companies should make more drugs and hire more people.
Pharmaceuticals are not like any other manufactured good. Drugs have an active ingredient that is either derived from a biological source or is chemically engineered in laboratories. Some biological sources are scarce and oftentimes the lab work required to make the active ingredient is extensive. This makes it difficult to meet any unforecasted increases in demand. Plants cannot simply be built overnight. The required safety specifications cannot easily be met.
I will finish on the safety issue. One of the products on which I used to educate physicians in Saskatchewan was a drug called Norvasc, a drug for hypertension and angina. There was a case recently in Hamilton of patients being prescribed Norvasc, but when they picked it up from their pharmacy, it turned out that they were getting nothing more than talcum powder pressed into the shape of Norvasc, this pill that I know so well. I was outraged to hear that. Clearly we need to take steps to ensure the safety of our drug supply.
In summary, this is quite a simple debate. There seems to be agreement on all sides of the House. It is unfortunate that at this hour in this important debate there are no members of the NDP or the Bloc Québécois present to hear this, but it is critical that the government take action to protect our drug supply--